Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Did Boenher Make a Mistake in Purging Justin Amash?

Travis Holte emails:

FirstAmash thinks he represents the American people, not his district. Next he says there's too much partisan politics. Oh really? That's the exact opposite of what Ron Paul says. But I thought the purge was over him being too conservative. Looks like Boehner was wrong about him, at least when it come to the bi-partisan tax increases.

Below is a clip of an interview Geraldo Rivera conducted with Amash. Note that towards the end of the interview Amash talks about tax rates being part of the fiscal cliff discussion, clearly meaning increases in tax rates. Holte is right, Amash is an ally of Boehner, when it comes to taxes.

Also note how much emphasis Amash puts on "balancing the budget," versus Murray Rothbard's view that deficits are not a bad as tax increases of any kind.

5 comments:

  1. He's sucking it now, because his career of being a leech is in danger. Was there any doubt about the reasoning?

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    1. Justin Amash is right. There is no way for Republicans to hold the line on taxes. They are going up if Congress passes no law whatsoever. If the GOP gets anything less than the rates that go into effect on Jan. 1 they can count that a victory. Or, they can do what Rand Paul recommends, and simply vote present - let Democrats pass their tax bill and take the blame for it if and when the economy tanks. The fight should be over holding the line of spending. The Budget Control Act mandates across the board cuts unless repealed. The GOP can stop that repeal unless replaced by a bill that includes equal cuts - and they need to include military spending with all the rest. This is what Amash appears to stand for, and Boehner should be pressed to do so as well - not waste his time on trying to preserve a top marginal income tax rate when that fight has already been lost.

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  2. "... note how much emphasis Amash puts on "balancing the budget," versus Murray Rothbard's view that deficits are not a bad as tax increases of any kind. "
    Actually the only thing that maters is government spending and future obligations, or lack of. Government intervention and direction of resources destroys wealth. It does harm now as taxes, or later as deficits.
    The only thing that maters is how much spending they cut THIS year!

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  3. Perhaps Amash is compromising on taxes now because he saw his "purge" from Bohner as a warning.

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  4. It's pathetic that these guys care about advancing themselves through committee appointments. They could just collect their $174,000+ salary and vote to uphold the constitution.

    If I had a pointless career in congress, I'd use it for educational purposes just like Dr. Paul. Why not draft a bill (simply driving home a point) to reinstate the Articles of Confederation? It would go nowhere but it might get people talking if it brought attention.

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